Life as a Mercenary

Naturally there will be a great deal of deviation between the low quality units who are little more than “land privateers” and the high quality companies of “freelance fighters”.

What makes a group Mercenaries 

To be an official mercenary unity you must have a charter, signed by a Baron or higher ranked noble. Quality units with have a lengthy document that sets out details about its organization and its aims, as well as a code of conduct it claims to follow. Low quality units will have a single page very similar to a ‘letter of mark’ allowing it to attack any enemy of the realm, during war time. The noble’s signature on a charter implies that he is the unit’s patron. However the link is often a weak one, and there is a long history of nobles not allowing themselves to be held responsible for the actions of “their” mercenary unit.

An adventuring company is similar but usually smaller than a mercenary unit and has a charter, if it has any, that clearly states the group will do work other than just fighting. Treasure hunting, message delivery, escort duty, and problem solving are usually listed. Frequently such a charter is simply drawn up and notarized with a town council stamp, rather than a noble’s signature. 

For some old units the charter is a mere footnote. Having been formed to fight in one war, the unit becomes an institution unto itself and continues on for generations. These companies exist as facts in the political-military environment. They are usually very large with over 100 troops, often they have a permanent camp rather like a small village.While part of the unit fights another part trains new troops and guards the camp. Their legitimacy comes from their long term existence not any paper.

At the other end spectrum are the “bastard” mercenary units, who have no legitimacy at all. Most often they are a band of brigands who have fled from their usual territory to seek a more respectable livelihood. These units are usually small and of low quality with questionable loyalty. They are seldom trusted with any important missions.

Employment & Pay

Whenever possible a unit prefers to hire people who can fight. Taking on green troops is necessary from time to time, but never the preferred choice. Low quality units will provide very little in the way of equipment, you bring whatever you can in with you. High quality units will make some attempt to standardize equipment and ensure that every troop has a basic kit including weapons and armor. Most units require new men to promises several years of service and exact serious punishment for deserters.

Pay for is usually 5 coins / day for troops, 10 coins / day for officers. However most units deduct 2 coins / day, to cover the cost of regular food & drink. In addition 1 coin / day may be taken as lodging fee. This is often a questionable fee, because troops end up camping in tents. Some units even force their troops to pay for all sorts of other things, so the average man is frequently in debt to his unit. On the bright side, most units pay double rate for any day of battle, and they have a generous policy about looting.

Most mercenary troops will actually see 10 to 12 coins / week, not a horrible wage when you consider they have very few necessary expenses. Of course very few troops keep their money; they buy alcohol, gambol and visit local pleasure houses. Getting rich enough to retire is not as easy as most new recruits think.

What mercenaries do

Generally mercenary units have two kinds of job. 1. Garrison duty, which is dull but safe, until the place comes under an attack. The unit is typically organized into 3 watches of 8 hours each and acts like any town guard. They are concerned with outside danger not with stopping petty thieves. 2. Active duty, which involves lots of marching and fighting. This is preferred by many because it offers the bigger pay days. However there is a high chance of death, especially because mercenary units are almost always on the front line.

Organization

A typical small mercenary unit will have a Captain and a Lieutenant as top officers, a mage or cleric will be recruited if possible as another officer. There will be 3 squads of 10 men, each lead by a Sergeant. This allows for effective watch duty when on garrison and is the minimal attack force of any real use. Also there will be half dozen non-combat support people to run the camp.

Variations on this basic structure are numerous. Low quality units will tend to be mix and match in terms of weapons, with only the officers having horses. High quality units will usually divide troops according to weapons type and will include a cavalry squad.